{DIY Upholstered Headboard}
When it came time to design our master bedroom the first piece I wanted to find was the bed – more specifically the headboard. In my mind the bed is the focal point of any master bedroom and so if you are going to do it right, your headboard should make a statement! I have always loved the look of upholstered headboards but cringe at the prices. When searching for ideas, I ran across this beauty from Pottery Barn. It was exactly what I was looking for… but slightly (okay a lot) out of my price range – thus began my DIY Headboard Project!
STEP 1: Building the side pieces. This step is pretty simple. I (and by “I” I mean my handy husband) cut my 2×4’s to be 64″ each. Then I used the left over scraps to make 3″ center boards for the forms. Line them up & hammer away. You want to make sure you keep them as square as possible. Then once both forms are built, cut the particle board to the width of the form (its okay to have a seams on this part because you won’t see it!) I used a pin-nailer to attach the particle board, but you can use a staple gun or diligently nail it in by hand if you have that kind of time (and patience!).
STEP 2: Cut the plywood to the size of your headboard. I made a king size headboard, so mine was 77″ wide. In the inspiration piece, the center portion of the headboard went to the floor. I knew once I got the bed in front of it, you were never going to see a big chunk… so rather than buying two pieces of plywood, I just used one. So my backboard was 48″x77″. So because my headboard was now going to be “floating” off the floor, I decided to use my kreg jig to drill pocket holes into the plywood. This would allow me to secure the backboard to the side forms later. I did a total of (10) pocket holes on each side. I then used a chalk line to mark a straight line for my button holes (you could also use a level, but I had my chalk line handy and it was easier at the time!). After the line was marked, I then used a tape measure to mark each button’s exact location. Below is my “button hole spacing” diagram. In the inspiration piece there are a LOT more rows of buttons, but again, you weren’t going to see any of those once pillows were on the bed, so i decided three rows was plenty! Once the holes were marked, it was time to drill holes (you only need a hole large enough for your upholstery needle to go through – so don’t use too big of bit for this part).
STEP 3: Time to attach the foam to the plywood! First cut the foam to size and then apply the spray adhesive. Make sure you coat the plywood well and follow the instructions on the can. Once the foam is firmly attached its time to make some holes in it! Use your upholstery needle and guide it through the back of the plywood, through the hole you drilled. The needle should pop through right where you want the button. I then used a utility knife to make a small “x” around the needle. Then I found it easiest to pick out chunks of foam with my fingers rather than continuing to cut it with the utility knife. You want the hole to be about the size of your button and at least an inch deep. This is going to help make the tufted look that much more dramatic! My oldest son volunteered to help me out with this part!
STEP 4: Time to finish the side panels: I covered them both with the batting. They don’t have to be too “puffy” because you won’t be laying up against them, but I wrapped them a few times. I used the staple gun to attach the batting.
STEP 5: Now comes the sewing part. I really liked the seam on the inspiration piece (behind the upholstery nails) so I wanted to create that look on mine. It was super easy to do (and I have a love-hate relationship with my sewing machine… so when I say easy – it was a breeze!). I just figured out how close to the edges I wanted my seams to be (roughly 9/16″) and sewed three strips of material to size like the below picture. You want to make sure each strip of material is long enough (and wide enough) to cover the top, bottom, as well as the length of the form & with enough room to secure it to the back. I wish I would have measured mine when I did it, but I promise it wasn’t to hard to figure out! The finished center piece measured 2 1/4″ and the side pieces were both over 7″. You want to have enough room for your upholstery nail to be centered on the seam & not stick out on the edge of the form! Just error on the side of bigger than smaller when measuring – you can always make it smaller… its I bit more evolved to make it larger!
Once you’ve sewn your material, make sure it looks right on the form before going any further. If it looks great, then turn it inside-out and lay it over the form – its time to pin and mark the corners like so:
After sewing the top corners (you do not need to do this for the bottoms) attach the material to the back of the forms. Be careful to not pull the material too tightly. You want to secure it firmly, but you don’t want to pull too much on the seams. As you are working your way down the form stapling, be careful to keep your front seems as straight as possible!
STEP 6: Hammering the upholstery nails! I could not for the life of me figure out how the spacer tool I bought worked so I ended up just using it to mark each nail’s placement with a sharpie marker. You could do this with a tape measure or ruler – so I didn’t put the tool on my supply list! My nail marks were spaced roughly 3/4″ apart. Once they were marked I used my rubber mallet to hammer each nail in. My beautiful assistant, Laney-bug eagerly “helped” with this process!
STEP 7: Once both side forms are done its time to start upholstering buttons. This was my least favorite part of the project but the concept was simple enough. I purchased the Dritz 3 Cover Buttons/Tools kit and just followed the instructions on the packaging.
STEP 8: Time to start covering the headboard! I used left over batting to cover the headboard & foam. This will help add to the tufted look and I highly recommend it! I used staples to secure the batting to the plywood. Once that step is done, cut your material with plenty of room to play with on both sides. Because my headboard was 48″ tall + the 2″ of foam + the 1/2″ of plywood, the 54″ material was a perfect size to run vertically across. I draped the material over the headboard and used regular tape to temporarily hold it in place. For the top row of buttons I wanted to exaggerate the tufted look so I cheated by pinching the fabric for a seam and taped the fold in place on the back like pictured below. 
Once you get the seam taped in place, now comes the button part. Thread your needle with the backing buttons attached. These can be any buttons you have laying around the house – you are never going to see them. Just make sure they are heavy duty enough to not break when you pull on them! In the same way, make sure the thread you use is heavy duty as well. I used Crochet Thread:
Poke the needle through the holes you made in the plywood (make sure the seam you created lines up nicely with the button placement and readjust if necessary). Once everything looks good, thread your upholstered button into place. I did this by looping the heavy string back through the button like pictured. Once you have looped it, cut the thread to take off the needle. Pull the two strings to pull the button securely in place, then tie a shoe-lace knot. The knot will be hidden behind the button and keep it in place. I knotted mine several times and then cut the left over string.
Do this for the whole first row, making sure your seems stay consistent. For me the second row was easier- probably because I had it down by the 3rd button! Again I pinched folds in the material where I wanted to make the tuft more dramatic and accomplish the “x” look. Then lastly, I attached the third row of buttons.
Once you have all your buttons attached, use the staple gun to secure the fabric to the back of the headboard. Each fold held with tape needs to be securely stapled in place, however make sure to not cover the pocket holes you made in the plywood. I cut the material around those holes… its not the prettiest view from the back, but like I said no one was ever going to see that part! (If it was going to be visible, I would make a thin back panel & glue it on to hide all the crazy!)
We lived in a rental at the time of making this so I kept the pieces separate in storage for MONTHS before actually getting to put it together. I made my husband hold it up for me so I could take a quick picture of what it will one day look like just for fun:
STEP 9: FINALLY the moment I had been waiting for: Attaching the side forms to the headboard!! It was a quick & easy step – we just lined up the side panel so the top was flush with the top of the headboard. Then we used 2″ pocket hole screws to secure the pieces together.
STEP 10: Lastly, we positioned the headboard exactly where it was going & screwed the headboard straight into the wall. I am pretty sure my husband did that to ensure I never rearrange 🙂 but I recommend doing something to insure the headboard stays put!
And this is what she looks like all done. I LOVE everything about this headboard!
